Primarily Drew Henson, but it seems that every year there's someone be it a baseball player, sprinter, wrestler, etc. that gets touted on Sportscenter as the next big signing. NFL teams do have the luxury of picking up anyone on a whim because of the contracts.
He's a great athlete to even be able to choose between the two sports, and I wouldn't fault him for picking either. Baseball, however, is probably the most difficult sport to really "make it" in. Right now there are rosters chock-full of pitchers, talent, and guys trying to rise up through the minor leagues. Samardzija may have benefited from being a well-known Golden Domer, Brady Quinn's favorite target, etc., when the Cubs' organization picked him up, and there's no doubt his name will be an attraction the first year or so around the minors. After that wears off, though, he'll have to show he has what it takes to get guys out at the top level. Guys who throw in the mid-to-upper '90s are not too rare.
Wrong Choice. He would have been a top ten NFL draft pick according to Mel Kiper. The second best wide reciever in the nation behind Calvin Johnson. Besides that fact that excessing in Notre Dame football is a lot more glamorous than excessing in baseball, straight money earnings of a top 10 pick in last years draft means his signing bonus would have been more than 10.5 million dollars. Thats guaranteed money. He'd play on Sunday's, on national TV, with a major NFL franchise instead of on weekdays for a Single A with 500 people in the stands.
I have to agree with several other posters that the guaranteed money and less wear and tear on his body were the keys to his decision. And as a Cubs fan, my enthusiasm is somewhat tempered. I have not seem him play baseball, but from what I have heard, he doesn't really do anything special. He has a 95+ mph fastball and is developing a decent slider. That kind of sounds like most righties in the majors.
Maybe he just liked baseball better.
I'm a Cubs fan and I can't believe some Notre Dame reciever would rather play for the Cubs than pro football I'm glad the franchise treated him with class and respect but I still see a 12-8 4.20 era a few years from now not ripping on him I just haven't ever seen him pitch and by the way 12-8 ain't so bad so I wish him the best of luck in his baseball career
John Elway was a guy who got drafted by the Yankees, but went to the NFL.
Tom Brady and Michael Bishop, the two best New England QBs of all time, as voted by WEEI listeners. Both drafted as 3rd basemen. Cannons.
I'm glad the franchise treated him with class and respect but I still see a 12-8 4.20 era a few years from now Ted Lilly and Jeff Suppan converted basically that line to multi-year deals at over $10MM per year. Tom Brady and Michael Bishop, the two best New England QBs of all time, as voted by WEEI listeners. Both drafted as 3rd basemen. Cannons According to his bio at the Patriots web site, Brady was drafted as a catcher. I'm sure his arm came in handy there as well.
Meh. He's no Michael Bishop.
Meh. He's no Michael Bishop. yeah, well neither of them are dave winfield.
Winfield may have been a 4 sport athlete, but he never got know Diddley like Bo Jackson did.
Never knew that about Winfield. Crazy.
Guarenteed money is the key to this discussion for me. The article does not mention a noble fact. I saw on the local news in Chicago that Samardzija was offered a guaranteed contract. He was offered a guaranteed contract by the Cubs because he will return his signing bonus if he does not complete his contract and returns to football. Maybe his talent is very iffy at this point but his character certainly isn't. Welcome to the Cubs!
I'm glad the franchise treated him with class and respect but I still see a 12-8 4.20 era a few years from now Ted Lilly and Jeff Suppan converted basically that line to multi-year deals at over $10MM per year. Samardzija would be doing fantastic to ever even reach the level of a Ted Lilly or Jeff Suppan. 12-8, 4.20 would be pretty damn good. I hope nobody's expecting him to be the second coming of Tom Seaver (I guess I could say Fergy Jenkins, since he's with the Cubs, but if I was to compare Samardzija to any other Cub ace, I'd be sentencing him to injury problems (and I still consider Maddux a Brave)). I'm sure now I'll be countered with a long list of every Cub pitcher who had some good seasons.
